Kennewick adult home project to go ahead

Modern Living Services has received the last major chunk of money it needs to build a home for disabled adults in Kennewick.

The Kennewick Perry Suites is one of 49 affordable housing projects in the state to receive a Housing Trust Fund grant from the state Department of Commerce.

Kennewick Perry Suites, a 14-unit supportive housing complex for disabled adults, will receive about $739,000 out of the $65 million awarded Wednesday.

Modern Living Services already had about $2.1 million of the $2.9 million needed for the project, thanks to a $1.8 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and $300,000 from Benton County.

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The cost includes building the complex, subsidizing rent and property management and maintenance for 40 years, Andrea Mallonee, the nonprofit's president, told the Herald earlier this year.

The group was formed by area families who saw the need for affordable housing for disabled adults and other services such as respite care, which provides relief for caregivers of disabled people.

There will be an on-site care provider who would help residents with everything from paying bills and getting groceries to providing emotional support, Mallonee said at the time. Modern Living Services plans to work with other community groups for that service, she said.

Rent may be as low as $100 a month, which would significantly help disabled adults living on Social Security, she said at the time. When people are living on Social Security and have to pay up to $600 in rent, it leaves little for other living expenses, she said.

Other funding for Tri-City projects announced Wednesday included $1.9 million for American Baptist Homes of the West's 41-unit Richland Senior Housing and $1.4 million to the Housing Authority of the city of Pasco and Franklin County for the 50-unit Fourth and Pearl Family Housing in Pasco.